A "handful" of grammar problems

Question

The following appeared in today's Washington Post. Discusing changes in modern horse-breeding practices, columnist Andrew Beyer noted that few of the sires in current demand are noted for their ability to produce horses with the stamina to run long races:
" . . .there is but a handful of stallions renowned as important stamina influences . . ."
"A handful" is surely singular, so "there is . . . a handful" appears to be correct. But my ear keeps insisting that the entire phrase just modifies the word "stallions," so that the verb should be "are." In other words, if we substituted "brown" for "but a handful of," the required verb would undoubtedly be "are" rather than "is."

Can someone help me out? Is my brain or my ear the better judge here?

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]The following appeared in today's Washington Post. Discusing changes in modern horse-breeding practices, columnist Andrew Beyer noted that few of ... be "are" rather than "is." Can someone help me out? Is my brain or my ear the better judge here?[/nq]
I think more often than not the problem is the other direction. "A platoon of soldiers was stationed at Ft. Bragg" but people want to say "were" stationed because the verb is right next to "soldiers". If you're American or not British, I don't think you would have a probelem with "a platoon of soldiers was". Or "There was but one platoon of soldiers."
But in your example, the preceding noun is handful. If I could really get several stallions to fit in my hand, I wouldn't have a negative reaction to "there is but a handful of stallions". But since this won't be happening, it emphasizes the plurality of stallions and perhaps the silliness of handful. "There are only but a few stallions" gets us back to a plural verb that I think no one would react badly to.
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
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[nq:1]" . . .there is but a handful of stallions renowned as important stamina influences . . ." "A handful" is surely singular, so "there is . . . a handful" appears to be correct. [/nq]
Well, you can't have the article "a" modifying a plural noun, so "a lot" and "a hundred" are surely singular too. So "a lot of people is sick today" appears to be correct. A hundred dollars says I'm right.
\P. Schultz

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[nq:2]" . . .there is but a handful of stallions ... . . . a handful" appears to be correct. [/nq]
[nq:1]Well, you can't have the article "a" modifying a plural noun, so "a lot" and "a hundred" are surely singular too. So "a lot of people is sick today" appears to be correct. A hundred dollars says I'm right.[/nq]
Was I absent when we voted to ban straight answers?

Most native speakers of English feel a tug between singular and plural when the simple subject is singular (as is "handful") but the notion of the subject as a whole is plural (as is "handful of stallions"). I'd go with a plural verb in this instance, respecting the notional plurality of the full subject.
The Grammer Genious (aka P. Schultz) is just having fun at the expense of people other than the OP. Almost no native English speaker would write (let alone say) "a lot of people is sick today," and most would write and say "There are a handful of stallions ..." But the notion of plurality has to be there. So you would expect singular verbs in sentences like "A lot of glassware is up for auction" (check the dictionary for this meaning of "lot" if it isn't clear) and "A handful of dust has fallen onto the table."

There's no iron-clad rule to help differentiate, and some sentences would probably sound just fine with either singular or plural verb. In fact, I think you can use Meirman's example of the platoon: "A platoon of soldiers was/were late in reporting for duty." Was it the platoon as a group or the soldiers as individuals that was/were late? I think you could support either choice.
Next week: "One out of three Germans pass the driving test."

Bob Lieblich
Straight answere (this time)

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"Robert Lieblich" (Email Removed) schrieb im Newsbeitrag
[nq:2]Well, you can't have the article "a" modifying a plural ... appears to be correct. A hundred dollars says I'm right.[/nq]
[nq:1]Was I absent when we voted to ban straight answers?[/nq]
Well, seeing as you have no recollection of the ballot, I think the answer to that is perfectly obvious.
[nq:1]There's no iron-clad rule to help differentiate, and some sentences would probably sound just fine with either singular or plural ... the platoon as a group or the soldiers as individuals that was/were late? I think you could support either choice.[/nq]
Compare that with, say, "The platoon constantly bickered amongst themselves." Here, the platoon is most definitely seen as a group of individuals, and the singular "...amongst itself" sounds quite bizarre.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Was I absent when we voted to ban straight answers?[/nq]
[nq:1]Well, seeing as you have no recollection of the ballot, I think the answer to that is perfectly obvious.[/nq]
You overlook the high likelihood that I slept through it. Check and see if I am recorded as abstaining. Or snoozing.
[nq:2]There's no iron-clad rule to help differentiate, and some sentences ... that was/were late? I think you could support either choice.[/nq]
[nq:1]Compare that with, say, "The platoon constantly bickered amongst themselves." Here, the platoon is most definitely seen as a group of individuals, and the singular "...amongst itself" sounds quite bizarre.[/nq]
Agreed.
The problem with a flexible language is that it offers so many choices. That's also its virtue, of course.

Bob Lieblich
Choice fella

Usenet · Answer

try substituting "a small quantity" for "handful" and then decide.

Usenet · Answer

Thanks. Of all the responses to my posting, yours seems to fit best. Poorly chosen metaphors often get in the way of plain commmunication.

(As requested, I am posting this to the group as well as responding directly.)

A "handful" of grammar problems

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